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You can watch 10 different Jared Harris performances without ever realizing that they have an actor in common: the man is a proverbial chameleon. Following his exit from Mad Men and his turn as Ulysses S. Grant in Lincoln, Harris stars as the agoraphobic magic man Hodge Starkweather in The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, lining the cast of young, fresh stars in the making with his veteran bravado. Of course, spending time around his youthful costars has clearly rubbed off on the thespian. "There’s lots of laughter, because you are being a kid again," Harris admits to Hollywood.com. "It’s great fun!"
Screen Gems
Speaking on the creation of the new movie, adapted from the novels of author Cassandra Clare, Harris added, "That was one of the things [director Harald Zwart] believed would ground the audience in the world that the story takes place in. He wanted everything to be built. He wanted anything we saw to actually happen." Watch the video above to check out our full interview with Harris, and catch Mortal Instruments in theaters Aug. 21.
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The movie magic of bringing Cassandra Clare's YA fantasy series The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones to the big screen isn't just in the CGI (though there is some of that, transporting both the characters and the moviegoers to other realms and bringing terrifying demons to life) but in the minor details. The sketches on the bedroom wall of the New York City apartment where the story's heroine Clary (Lily Collins) resides, the tattoos that adorn the bodies of the marked Shadowhunters (including the likes of Jamie Campbell Bower and Jonathan Rhys Meyers), and the Gothic accents in the library of the hub that is The Institute.
Hollywood.com had the chance to visit the Toronto set of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones last October and saw firsthand, the intricate detailing that went into not only bringing the novel to life, but making sure all bases were covered when it came to capturing the essence of the story and the characters.
Sets and the City:
Trying to replicate the massive scale of New York City is no small task, so to speak. Even more challenging can be making a realistic NYC apartment. The team behind building the sets for TMI engineered a beautiful — and reasonably sized — living space for Clary and her mother Jocelyn (Lena Headey), right up the stairs from Madame Dorethea's (CCH Pounder) place in their Brooklyn walk-up. Clary's walls were lined with sketches that looked not unlike something you'd see in TMI fan art and the kitchen was spacious, even by fake NYC apartment standards, but a major fight unfolds in that room. Which is why, as production designer François Séguin explained, the kitchen's counters were padded.
RELATED: Lily Collins Talks About How 'Mortal Instruments' Has a Different Kind of YA Heroine
When TMI hits theaters this summer, moviegoers should keep an even closer eye on the library of The Insitution. Even Collins was blown away by how it turned out, as she told Hollywood.com, "[It is] literally is exactly how I pictured it in my head....as a fan, I think the world is encapsulated really, really well."
The set of the library was a veritable what's what in the TMI world: the Mortal cup, the Mortal sword, and Mortal symbols are scattered throughout the gothic architecture, complete with stainglass windows and a fully stocked library. A grand piano, a map of Germany, a birdcage, a magnifying glass, and a statue constructed with the images of skulls and bones were also among the various trinkets and set pieces found in the study in The Institute belonging to Hodge Starkweather (Jared Harris).
Perhaps most importantly, the sets impressed Clare, who was on the set as a consultant. "It's amazing to see it come to life like this, the sets are really beautiful, they are very intricate," the author said. "They really recreated these sort of imaginary places with incredible attention to detail. There's a place in the books called "The City of Bones" that is named after the underground city built out of human bones and corpses, and I think they made 1,000 to 2,000 different models of skulls and each one is different aged to look differently, each one has different sort of features and has been changed in a different way so even though you probably only see it in a glancing shot in the movie like I know every single one of those is different and I think it adds incredible texture to the film." (Fun facts: there were 87 swords on the TMI set and up to 16 runes scattered throughout).
RELATED: Kevin Zegers as Alec in 'The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones' — EXCLUSIVE PHOTO
Dress To Impress:
Never mind that Collins had to do her fight sequences in high heels, Meyers had to do his with long braided hair! The actor, who had a meticulous eye for getting the details just right (during one particular fight sequence Meyers would ask director Harald Zwart for more takes to get the motions down pat) was in head-to-toe leather garb, giving his character Valentine something of a Matrix-meets-YA aesthetic.
Meyers, just like Bower, was covered in fake tattoos by the TMI makeup department. As Bower explained about the tattoos, "These are runes, so each tattoo has a specific power so I’m covered in them and I have real tattoos as well, so my real tattoos have to get covered and then runes get put on top of my real tattoos." The actor, who plays Shadowhunter Jace joked, "I think I should just get runes tattooed all over me, then at least I wouldn’t have to spend three hours in the makeup chair because I’d spend fifteen hours in the tattoo parlor and be done with it for the rest of my life."
You'll be able to keep an out for all the major makeup and minor details when The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones hits theaters on August 23.
RELATED: 'The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones' Trailer
[Photo credit: Screen Gems]

As one adaptation of wildly popular young adult series comes to a close, a new one begins.
Just hours before the final installment of The Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn — Part 2 , arrives in theaters, the trailer for the next teen phenomenon finally hit the Internet. Still don't call The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, the first chapter in Cassandra Clare's bestselling fantasy series, just another Twilight. Yes, some of the elements are the same (a supernatural love story, mythical creatures, Jamie Campbell Bower is there) but based on the thrilling trailer alone, it looks like the The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones could appeal to both the Twilight crowd yearning for something familiar and beyond.
RELATED: A First Look At The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
The story follows Clary Fray (played by Lily Collins, who is a few years older and a few hair shades darker than the heroine in the book) a seemingly normal Brooklyn teen whose world is turned upside down. (In the YA world, Clary tends to lean more towards Katniss Everdeen territory than Bella Swan, despite the appearance of vampires and werewolves.)
When Clary meets a demon hunter named Jace (Collins' real-life beau Bower) she is thrust into the mysterious underground world of the Shadowhunters after her mother (played by Game of Thrones' Lena Heady, not seen in the preview), who has ties to them, disappears. Along the way on Clary's journey is her best friend Simon (James Franco lookalike Robert Sheehan), the Shadowhunter mentor Hodge (Mad Men's Jared Harris, serving as the clip's narrator), and the rogue Shadowhunter villain Valentine (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). With most of the main players are on hand in the trailer, fans already deeply immersed in the should be overwhelmingly relieved that the gothic tone of the book has been kept in tact. Others may just be intrigued by the Matrix-esque rave going on.
Watch the first trailer for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones here:
Thoughts, fellow Clave dwellers? Does Lily Collins make a good Clary? Were you hoping for more Valentine? Share your thoughts!
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones arrives in theaters on August 23, 2013.
[Photo credit: Sony Pictures]

While recent animated blockbusters have aimed to viewers of all ages starting with fantastical concepts and breathtaking visuals but tackling complex emotional issues along the way Ice Age: Continental Drift is crafted especially for the wee ones — and it works. Venturing back to prehistoric times once again the fourth Ice Age film paints broad strokes on the theme of familial relationships throwing in plenty of physical comedy along the way. The movie isn't that far off from one of the many Land Before Time direct-to-video sequels: not particularly innovative or necessary but harmless thrilling fun for anyone with a sense of humor. Unless they have a particular distaste for wooly mammoths the kids will love it.
Ice Age: Continental Drift continues to snowball its cartoon roster bringing back the original film's trio (Ray Romano as Manny the Mammoth Denis Leary as Diego the Sabertooth Tiger and John Leguizamo as Sid the Sloth) new faces acquired over the course of the franchise (Queen Latifah as Manny's wife Ellie) and a handful of new characters to spice things up everyone from Nicki Minaj as Manny's daughter Steffie to Wanda Sykes as Sid's wily grandma. The whole gang is living a pleasant existence as a herd with Manny's biggest problem being playing overbearing dad to the rebellious daughter. Teen mammoths they always want to go out and play by the waterfall! Whippersnappers.
The main thrust of the film comes when Scratch the Rat (whose silent comedy routines in the vein of Tex Avery/WB cartoons continue to be the series highlight) accidentally cracks the singular continent Pangea into the world we know today. Manny Diego and Sid find themselves stranded on an iceberg once again forced on a road trip journey of survival. The rest of the herd embarks to meet them giving Steffie time to realize the true meaning of friendship with help from her mole pal Louis (Josh Gad).
The ham-handed lessons may drag for those who've passed Kindergarten but Ice Age: Continental Drift is a lot of fun when the main gang crosses paths with a group of villainous pirates. (Back then monkeys rabbits and seals were hitting the high seas together pillaging via boat-shaped icebergs. Obviously.) Quickly Ice Age becomes an old school pirate adventure complete with maritime navigation buried treasure and sword fights. Gut (Peter Dinklage) an evil ape with a deadly... fingernail leads the evil-doers who pose an entertaining threat for the familiar bunch. Jennifer Lopez pops by as Gut's second-in-command Shira the White Tiger and the film's two cats have a chase scene that should rouse even the most apathetic adults. Hearing Dinklage (of Game of Thrones fame) belt out a pirate shanty may be worth the price of admission alone.
With solid action (that doesn't need the 3D addition) cartoony animation and gags out the wazoo Ice Age: Continental Drift is entertainment to enjoy with the whole family. Revelatory? Not quite. Until we get a feature length silent film of Scratch's acorn pursuit we may never see a "classic" Ice Age film but Continental Drift keeps it together long enough to tell a simple story with delightful flare that should hold attention spans of any length. Massive amounts of sugar not even required.
[Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox]

In This Means War – a stylish action/rom-com hybrid from director McG – Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) and Chris Pine (Star Trek) star as CIA operatives whose close friendship is strained by the fires of romantic rivalry. Best pals FDR (Pine) and Tuck (Hardy) are equally accomplished at the spy game but their fortunes diverge dramatically in the dating realm: FDR (so nicknamed for his obvious resemblance to our 32nd president) is a smooth-talking player with an endless string of conquests while Tuck is a straight-laced introvert whose love life has stalled since his divorce. Enter Lauren (Reese Witherspoon) a pretty plucky consumer-products evaluator who piques both their interests in separate unrelated encounters. Tuck meets her via an online-dating site FDR at a video-rental store. (That Lauren is tech-savvy enough to date online but still rents movies in video stores is either a testament to her fascinating mix of contradictions or more likely an example of lazy screenwriting.)
When Tuck and FDR realize they’re pursuing the same girl it sparks their respective competitive natures and they decide to make a friendly game of it. But what begins as a good-natured rivalry swiftly devolves into romantic bloodsport with both men using the vast array of espionage tools at their disposal – from digital surveillance to poison darts – to gain an edge in the battle for Lauren’s affections. If her constitutional rights happen to be violated repeatedly in the process then so be it.
Lauren for her part remains oblivious to the clandestine machinations of her dueling suitors and happily basks in the sudden attention from two gorgeous men. Herein we find the Reese Witherspoon Dilemma: While certainly desirable Lauren is far from the irresistible Helen of Troy type that would inspire the likes of Tuck and FDR to risk their friendship their careers and potential incarceration for. At several points in This Means War I found myself wondering if there were no other peppy blondes in Los Angeles (where the film is primarily set) for these men to pursue. Then again this is a film that wishes us to believe that Tom Hardy would have trouble finding a date so perhaps plausibility is not its strong point.
When Lauren needs advice she looks to her boozy foul-mouthed best friend Trish (Chelsea Handler). Essentially an extension of Handler’s talk-show persona – an acquired taste if there ever was one – Trish’s dialogue consists almost exclusively of filthy one-liners delivered in rapid-fire succession. Handler does have some choice lines – indeed they’re practically the centerpiece of This Means War’s ad campaign – but the film derives the bulk of its humor from the outrageous lengths Tuck and FDR go to sabotage each others’ efforts a raucous game of spy-versus-spy that carries the film long after Handler’s shtick has grown stale.
Business occasionally intrudes upon matters in the guise of Heinrich (Til Schweiger) a Teutonic arms dealer bent on revenge for the death of his brother. The subplot is largely an afterthought existing primarily as a means to provide third-act fireworks – and to allow McGenius an outlet for his ADD-inspired aesthetic proclivities. The film’s action scenes are edited in such a manic quick-cut fashion that they become almost laughably incoherent. In fairness to McG he does stage a rather marvelous sequence in the middle of the film in which Tuck and FDR surreptitiously skulk about Lauren's apartment unaware of each other's presence carefully avoiding detection by Lauren who grooves absentmindedly to Montel Jordan's "This Is How We Do It." The whole scene unfolds in one continuous take – or is at least craftily constructed to appear as such – captured by one very agile steadicam operator.
Whatever his flaws as a director McG is at least smart enough to know how much a witty script and appealing leads can compensate for a film’s structural and logical deficiencies. He proved as much with Charlie’s Angels a film that enjoys a permanent spot on many a critic’s Guilty Pleasures list and does so again with This Means War. The film coasts on the chemistry of its three co-stars and only runs into trouble when the time comes to resolve its romantic competition which by the end has driven its male protagonists to engage in all manner of underhanded and duplicitous activities. This Means War being a commercial film – and likely an expensive one at that – Witherspoon's heroine is mandated to make a choice and McG all but sidesteps the whole thorny matter of Tuck and FDR’s unwavering dishonesty not to mention their craven disregard for her privacy. (They regularly eavesdrop on her activities.) For all their obvious charms the truth is that neither deserves Lauren – or anything other than a lengthy jail sentence for that matter.
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